So you want to know where the highest demand for dental hygienists is? There’s one answer: everywhere. Where are they paid the most? California. There you go. I’m giving you straight answers.
But I get the feeling you want to know more…well, you’re reading the right article.
As a general rule there is a moderate to high demand for dental hygienists across the US. It goes without saying but the very highest demand is where they are hiring!
One of the best resources to see how much demand there is for dental hygienists in your area is to search the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Website. There is a special report called Occupation Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) that tracks how much dental hygienists are getting paid in each state and the projection for growth in each state.
And from what I’ve seen dental hygiene is a very promising career. Let’s dive into the details.
The General Demand for Dental Hygienists
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) the dental hygiene profession is expected to grow 9% from 2021-2031.
This is 4% faster than the national average of 5% for all professions.
This equates to approximately 19,000 added jobs over the time period.
Based on these projections there is a moderate to high demand for dental hygienists across the US. Therefore, you can reasonably expect to have a strong job market if you decide to pursue the dental hygiene career.
Of course, these are average numbers and your area may differ slightly. This is why it is important to search YOUR specific area.
Knowing how the dental hygiene profession is performing in your area will help you make the best decision possible.
“BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS.”
– ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL (SCOTTISH-BORN INVENTOR)
The Specific Demand for Dental Hygienists in YOUR Area
First of all, if you are reading this in an effort to research a career before investing your time and money into everything it involves you are one wise person. I myself researched this profession back in high school and it proved invaluable in my decision-making process.
I could have simply made a chart for you to quickly scan your state’s stats about dental hygiene but those change year to year and it wouldn’t give you the stats for your specific metropolitan area today.
So in order to lead you to the freshest stats for the dental hygiene profession I created this quick tutorial on how to access your particular state or specific metropolitan area’s stats.
- Go to https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/map_changer.htm
- In the dropdown menu for ‘Major Occupational Group’ select ‘Healthcare Practitioners and Technical’
- In the ‘Occupation’ dropdown menu select ‘Dental Hygienists’
- In the ‘Measure’ dropdown menu you have a few choices to select
- Employment by State: how many dental hygienists are employed in the state
- Location quotient* by State: how strong the job market is in the state, the higher the number the better the market
- Annual mean wage by State: annual earnings by state
- Employment by MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area): how many dental hygienists are employed in your specific area
- Location quotient by MSA: how strong the job market is in your specific area, the higher the number the better the market
- Annual mean wage by MSA: annual earnings in your specific area
- Click on the ‘Show Map’ button
- Click on the state or area of your choice. If on a mobile device, press hold on the state or area of your choice and then tap on the pop-up again to reveal the information.
Note* Location quotients compare the concentration of an industry within a specific area to the concentration of that industry nationwide. The higher the number the stronger the profession is in the area because it makes up a bigger portion of the area’s economy.
Take as an example the state of Florida where I am currently living.
I learn that, as of May 2021, there are 11,230 practicing hygienists in the state. In my specific area (Miami-Ft.Lauderdale-West Palm Beach Area ) there are 2,160 hygienists, almost 20% of the state’s total.
This could mean there are many work opportunities or a lot of competition or both.
Let’s see if the other stats can give us a clearer picture.
My area’s ‘Employment per 1000 jobs’ stat is 0.88. That means that for every 1000 jobs in the area there exists 0.88 of a dental hygiene job. Less than 1 means that the job market is not as good as the national average. Dental hygiene in my area is a little saturated!
I can actually attest to that because when I look on my TempMee app (which I’ll talk about in a little bit) the temp job offers go by fast! There are more hygienists than there are jobs in the area.
The annual mean wage for my area is $73,360 while the state’s annual mean wage is $73,180.
“That’s not bad”, you may be thinking. But let’s take a look around the state.
Right across the everglades on the other coast of Florida in the Naples-Immokallee-Marco Island area we have an ‘Employment per 1000 jobs’ number of 1.40. This means that the dental hygiene market there is growing. And with an annual wage of $85,140 (almost $12,000 more than my area) this metro area looks like a better market than mine.
This is just one example on how to interpret the statistics on the map. Take a look around and explore your options.
How to Get the Most Out of the Demand in Your Area
So, now that you know you’re in demand, what can you do to land the best job possible in your area?
Know your worth.
Go back to the BLS map and change the ‘Measure’ to ‘Annual mean wage by state’ or ‘Annual mean wage by MSA’. This stat will show you the different wages at the different percentiles across the state as well as across your area.
For example, in my metropolitan area of Miami-Ft.Lauderdale-West Palm Beach the 10th percentile (10% of the hygienists employed) are making $60,890 annually while the 90th percentile (90% of the hygienists employed) are making $79,200 annually.
Knowing these numbers will help you be more confident when asking for a raise or when interviewing for a new position.
Seek Experienced Insights.
Let’s face it, as good as the BLS site is, its weakness is being a year too late.
If you want to see what the job market is like in real time take a moment to look up a local dental placement agency.
These agencies specialize in connecting dental offices with temporary as well as permanent candidates. They get real-time calls from dental offices in the area.
Some questions you may ask them are:
How long have you been serving my area?
Have you seen an increase or a decrease in offices looking for hygienists?
What are the going rates for hygienists in my area both as a temp and as a permanent candidate?
What time of year do dental offices contact you the most about hires?
When I moved to Florida from Texas this is exactly what I did. I called up my local dental placement agency, asked them these questions and expressed what I was looking for in temp assignments. They even let me set my own rate and offered me temp jobs that paid what I wanted! I was working in no time!
Search Dental Placement Apps.
For those that are already dental hygienists and are thinking of transferring to another part of the state or the country, looking into dental placement apps like TempMee or Cloud Dentistry could be another source of insight into the market.
Scroll through some of the temp or permanent offers that dental offices post on the apps and see what they are looking for.
( Note: Because these apps want to verify that you are a licensed dental hygienist I don’t recommend them to non-licensed people or people that are dental hygiene curious because you can’t access their platform without a license number.)
“KNOW YOUR WORTH. KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT YOU’RE GETTING AND WHAT YOU DESERVE.”
-UNKNOWN
What to do if there is no demand?
As we just discussed, the dental hygiene market in the United States is set to grow. But what if you’re not located in the US?
The chances of your country or state/province having a bureau of labor and work statistics is high. Try searching for their website online.
But in the case dental hygiene is not in high demand in your area, consider moving to an area that is booming. This may give you a fresh start to a new chapter in your life.
Or, if you are not in a position to move, peruse one of the other occupations on the BLS website and see what is growing. The possibilities are endless!
I hope this article proves to be a useful guide in your journey to finding the right career for you.
Wishing you all the Best!
